– The Rangers defeated the Washington Capitals, 2-1, tonight at Madison Square Garden to extend their point streak to five games (4-0-1). New York has now registered at least one point in nine of their last 12 contests (8-3-1) after dropping their first two games of the season.

– The Blueshirts are now 8-5-1 (17 pts) overall, including a 6-2-1 mark at home this season.

– The Rangers have won six of their last eight regular season games against the Capitals, out-scoring Washington, 28-15, over the span.

– The Rangers have posted a record of 18-3-2 in their last 23 games against Southeast Division opponents, including a 3-0-0 mark against the Southeast Division this season. The Blueshirts have out-scored their Southeast Division opponents, 77-46, over the span.

– New York registered 20 shots on goal in the first period, which marks a season-high and is their most shots in a single period since posting 20 shots on goal in the Third Period on April 5, 2012, at Pittsburgh. The Rangers out-shot the Capitals, 40-28, in the contest.

– The Blueshirts’ penalty kill was 4-4 (8:00) in the contest, and have now held their opponents scoreless on the power play in each of the last five games (16 times shorthanded). The Rangers have posted a record of 4-1-1 when holding opponents scoreless on the power play.

– The Rangers out-hit the Capitals, 34-22, led by Ryan Callahan’s game-high, six hits, and Brian Boyle’s five hits.

Player Notes:

– Henrik Lundqvist made 27 saves to improve to 7-5-0 overall, including a 6-2-0 mark at home this season. He has held opponents to two goals or less in six of his last nine games (6-3-0, 1.88 goals against average, .930 save percentage over the span), and is 7-3-0 with a 1.99 goals against average and a .927 save percentage in his last 10 games.

– Carl Hagelin notched a goal to extend his career-high goal streak to four games (five goals), and registered four shots on goal in 16:41 of ice time to earn first star honors. His four-game point streak (five goals, two assists over the span) also ties his career-high.

– Derek Stepan registered the game-winning goal, while on the power play, at 4:25 of the third period, and logged 21:38 of ice time. He has notched two goals in the last three games.

– Rick Nash tallied an assist to extend his assist/point streak to four games (one goal, four assists over the span). He also registered a game-high, eight shots on goal, and led all forwards with 22:33 of ice time. Nash leads the team in points (12), shots on goal (57) and plus/minus rating (plus-nine), and is tied for first in assists (nine) this season.

– Ryan McDonagh recorded an assist and was credited with four hits in 21:21 of ice time. He has now tallied four points (one goal, three assists) in the last five games.

– Michael Del Zotto tallied the primary assist on the game-winning, power play goal, and was credited with two hits in a team-high, 24:17 of ice time. He is now four points shy of his 100th career NHL point.

– Brad Richards recorded a power play assist, was credited with two hits and logged 18:20 of ice time. He has now tallied an assist in each of the last two games, and is tied for the team lead with nine assists on the season.

– Ryan Callahan led all skaters with six hits and six blocked shots, and registered five shots on goal in 21:10 of ice time.

– Darroll Powe was credited with one hit and one blocked shot, while skating in his 300th career NHL game.

Post-Game Quotes:

– John Tortorella on tonight’s game… “We’re going to take it one at a time. That’s all we can do is take it one at a time. The last game we grabbed a point there and tonight was a hard game. That’s all we’re trying to do, we’re not looking at streaks or records. We’re just trying to get points every night.”

– Henrik Lundqvist on the team’s recent play… “I think we’re getting to where we need to be. We’re doing a lot of good things. It pays off, so I don’t know if you want to call it on a roll here. It’s a good feeling when we play the way we should play, and it pays off. I think special teams are key. Lately, the PK has been great, the power play’s getting really good. I think that’s a huge part of having success in this league is having special teams go well for you.”

– Carl Hagelin on the power play… “We were on the puck and winning draws, that’s where it starts. When you win draws, you get the puck and they can’t be as aggressive.”

– The Rangers will return to action when they face-off against the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday, Feb. 19, at Madison Square Garden (7:00 p.m. – TV: MSG Network; Radio: ESPN 98.7), in an Original Six matchup.